When George and I first decided to reboot the on-demand cab market, we knew we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, but we knew we had to bring an ethical company to the masses.

The initial name choice for our cab app (before Piing!) was “REBU.CAB”. It was considered a little too close to our competitor but served as an ice-breaker while we sought to invent the right name. For the long term, however, we needed a name we could build on. The team and I put our heads together to brainstorm. To say we came up with a tonne of names is an understatement and the worst of which, you’ll find at the end of this blog. As the coffee flowed, so did the ideas; some were embarrassing, some not so much. We wanted to find our true name, one that reflects our business. We asked ourselves the following questions:

What is our model in layman's terms?
Does this name mean something to us?
What does this name remind us of?

The key objective was to ensure there were no negative connotations associated with the name. Then the idea came to us. When you strip down to the basics of an on-demand cab app, instead of the archaic ways of standing on the street and physically hailing a cab, in the comfort of your current location you conveniently “ping” a cab. Hence the name Piing!

As promised, just for fun, we will share with you the worst name to make the list: FLASH. I can’t say who suggested it. But we did ask that team member to kindly leave the creative meeting.

Piing is the trading name of Pi!NG Works Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 10711426 whose registered office is at International House, Regent Street, London W1B 2QD